Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2017

Today at Cedarville University, there’s a vibrant campus serving nearly 4,000 students soaking in God’s truth, discipling one another, and studying diligently for professions where they can shine the light of Christ. But in 1887, there was a different picture. No campus existed, just a charter from the state of Ohio, and a flickering hope for success that would be extinguished unless God provided. By 1890, the founders and first trustees of Cedarville College faced the end of their dream in the absence of meaningful financial support. At their meeting that year, the trustees, having now decided to close before the college had even opened, recommended, “that the whole enterprise be abandoned, that the treasurer be instructed to sell the lot (purchased in 1888) ... refund the money that had been contributed ... and cancel the subscriptions.” 1 Fortunately, the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian church did not accept this recommendation. What had started with much enthusiasm was now handicapped by lack of sufficient funds. At the height of this crisis, the trustees received word of a $25,000 bequest made to Cedarville College from the estate of the late William Gibson of Cincinnati, given in memory of his father, Peter. God had provided. William had been a partner with his father in a Cincinnati plumbing business and was active in a Reformed Presbyterian church there. He was not only a business owner, but also a philanthropist who became, according to his obituary, a “substantial citizen” of Cincinnati. 2 In his will, William pledged significant assets to a number of Presbyterian denominational agencies, but none as significant as the amount designated for Cedarville College. The will had been written in 1888 while Cedarville College existed only as a name printed on its charter received the previous year. The will was signed by Thomas Gibson, one of three executors and William’s cousin, but who also served as Chairman of the Cedarville College Board of Trustees and was one of five founders of the institution. Could it be that Thomas took it upon himself to remind William that this new school, designed to minister to college- age youth from Reformed Presbyterian churches, needed resources to launch its ministry? No one will know this side of heaven, but the Lord was at work. In 1891, after a short illness, WilliamGibson died. Soon, the substantial bequest of $25,000 arrived at the critical moment when the Cedarville College trustees were convinced they should abandon the project. To understand the significance of this gift, $25,000 is equivalent to $650,000 today, substantial now as it certainly was in 1891. This timely gift revitalized and invigorated the trustees. At the board meeting in 1892, the trustees passed a resolution: “In view of the fact that a bequest of $25,000 had been made to the Cedarville College by the late Mr. William THE LEGACY OF WILLIAM GIBSON Estate Gift Made Cedarville a Reality BY LYNN BROCK ’68 ADVANCING CEDARVILLE 22 | Cedarville Magazine